It's Not All Bad

The Passage  by Justin Cronin
NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR BY TIME MAGAZINE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Washington Post • Esquire • U.S. News & World Report • NPR’s On Point • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • BookPage • Library Journal

An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl—and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.  This is also a great read for teens and it is available in paperback from Bay Books

Room by Emma Donoghue
Room opens on Jack’s fifth birthday. He is very excited, wondering what his treat will be. Jack and Ma live in Room. Jack is a smart, happy little boy who asks tons of questions, and Ma finds a way to explain everything. He loves to read, sing, and tell stories. He loves to measure things and talk to his friend Dora the Explorer on TV. He hates green beans. Ma takes good care of Jack, teaching him to wash his hands often, to stay away from Stove. Her entire focus is on keeping him safe and unaware of their circumstances. Jack is always tucked away in Wardrobe before 9pm every night, before Old Nick arrives for his visits.

Slowly readers learn that Ma was abducted years before, and has since had a baby, Jack. She found ways to cope, to make life as normal as possible for Jack. But her captor is becoming unpredictable, and the painkillers she takes for a sore tooth are no longer enough to keep the fever down. Ma starts to talk with Jack about leaving Room, escaping to Outside. Dark as it may sound, this is an uplifting story of love and courage. Through Jack’s eyes, the things we take for granted are extraordinary, the things we worry about ridiculous. But there are also hurts that are too painful. Can Ma and Jack survive on the Outside?   This paperback version is enjoyed by teens.

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengance and Survival by John Vaillant
In a region of Siberia so remote that it was left untouched even by glaciers during the Ice Age, a 1997 hunt for an enormous man-killing Amur tiger becomes a fascinating tale of the conflict between two of the most powerful and intelligent predators atop the food chain–humans and Siberian tigers. Vaillant provides a thrilling and horrific account of hunters being stalked, attacked, and eaten while he deliberately constructs the reasons–historical, economic, political, biological, psychological, ecological–that intersect to upend an otherwise cautious respect between man and tiger. The result is deadly for both.

The Tiger, like Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, introduces readers to a part of the world where the hardships of wilderness make basic survival an unimaginable challenge. The vengeful intelligence of its stalking beast and the fear and obsession evoked in men echoes Melville’s Moby Dick. Yet, like C.S.I., the book has the compelling components of a forensic mystery.   Fans of Sebastian Junger and Jon Krakauer will enjoy this adventure- as will teens and others who love thrillers.  It is available in paperback and Brad Pitt will be starring in the upcoming movie version. 

War by Sebastian Junger
War is not just hell–it is insanity.  Junger, embedded for a year with U.S. troops fighting insurgents in the mountains above the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan, reports with even-handed clarity and insight on the excruciating intensity and unpredictable madness of combat and its impact on those on the front lines. The ensemble of soldiers he observes fighting, surviving and sometimes dying is as recognizable as any of the teens banging down our high school hallways because that is where they were only months before enlisting. Drawn together now on a mission that is nearly impossible in an alien environment, they find purpose and focus not in the politics of the fight, but in the commitment to protect their buddies at all cost, even if it means sacrificing one’s own life.

By citing research on the psychology, physiology, and sociology of combat soldiers, Junger provides a context for the story of these troops and their behaviors, from self-sacrifice to channeling rage, grief, and fear through the trigger of a weapon firing 900 rounds per minute. The reality of war is depicted without glorification or judgment.  Teens who enjoyed The Things They Carried will find this book fascinating.  Currently available in paperback.